Newton Township History
Newton Township was established March 6, 1810. On March 1, 1819, the north half of the township was detached to form Newberry Township.
Newton Township was named in honor of Sir Isaac Newton. It is the second largest of the twelve townships of Miami County. The township is approximately six miles from North to South and seven miles from East to West.
The draining of Newton Township is mainly through the Stillwater River and Panther Creek. Many smaller creeks and streams flow into the Stillwater.
There is conflict as to the order of the early settlers in Newton Township. According to the United States Land Department records, the following is the order in which the early settlers purchased land. Michael Williams (August 7, 1801), Thomas Coppock (September 25, 1804), Marmaduke Coate (November 5, 1804), Benjamin Iddings (November 7, 1804), Michael Ingle (November 15, 1804), William Schenk (November 20, 1804) Other early settlers include the Nutts, Millers, Thompsons and Hills. By 1820, five hundred and thirteen people are living in Newton Township.
The pioneer church was erected in 1814 by the Society of Friends and known as the Union Church. The log structure was replaced in about 1855 by a brick building.
The township is rich in limestone deposits. The first quarry was opened by Abram Deeter in 1825. Six quarries and two lime kilns were in use in 1875. Also, three saw mills and two grist mills were located on the Stillwater River.
Jesse Emery built a grist mill in 1820, about 2 miles south of Pleasant Hill. A distillery was built by David Patty about a mile south of Emery’s grist mill.